Pursuant to Rule 165(3) the following lawyers were administratively suspended, effective January 1, 2021, for non-payment of the 2020-2021 second instalment of professional liability indemnity levy.

A list of administrative suspensions has been posted to the Law Society of Alberta’s website. Lawyers are unable to practise law while suspended.

Jointly presented by the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch, the Distinguished Service Awards recognize outstanding members of Alberta’s legal community for their service to the profession, service to the community, service to legal scholarship and pro bono legal service. The 2021 Distinguished Service Awards are taking place on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at noon, register here. We invite you to attend and celebrate the outstanding members of the legal community being recognized this year:

Service to the Profession – Susan V.R. Billington, QC

Service to the Community – Cyril S. Gurevitch, QC

Legal Scholarship – Professor Steven Penney

Pro Bono Legal Service – D. Jean Munn, QC

An email reminder will be sent out to all registrants around Feb. 9 with details about how to access the webcast. If you have any questions about this event, please email CBA Alberta.

Resolution Services has provided an update on a change to the availability of Family Court Counsellor (FCC) in-court assistance services. To assist staff in concentrating on settling family law disputes before they get to the court room, FCC in-court assistance services will be stopped.

Making this change permanent allows for the optimum use of available staff resources. FCCs will continue to be the first point of contact for SRLs with family law disputes, and will continue to deliver Intake and Caseflow Conference services. The expectation is that this will allow Resolution Services to continue to support families and the court by diverting family law disputes to other resolution options and resources before a court application is filed, and by providing accurate information about court forms and process when required.

As of Jan. 4, 2021, FCC in-court assistance services are not available in Calgary and Medicine Hat, and services will end for all other locations as of Feb. 1, 2021.

They would like to thank everyone who supported the FCC in-court assistance services, and who will continue to help Albertans going through what is often a very difficult time as they restructure their families.

If you have any questions, please call Faye Morrison 780.968.3463 or Daryl Willetts at 403.355.2410.

Precautions designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread in Alberta’s busiest courts will continue for at least an additional month.

These measures include adjourning low-complexity out-of-custody criminal trials other than domestic violence cases, the closure of in-person traffic services, and an increased reliance on remote appearances. The Provincial Court of Alberta will keep these measures in place until at least Feb. 26.

Further updates can be expected at the end of February.

If you are interacting with Alberta’s Provincial Courts, please visit their website for the full details of these precautions.

Court of Queen's Bench Administration has extended the cap on email filing fees until June 30, 2021. In addition to regular filing fees, documents that are filed via email will be charged at the rate of $1 per page, capped to a maximum of $20.